Matthew Vollmer opens a browser window into his own mind with these collage-style essays. Exercising a rapacious intellectual curiosity, he seamlessly integrates flying snakes, mass shootings, emojis, pop stars, stargazing, ghosts, circuses, and a hundred other things. Full of keen observations and unexpected insights, Permanent Exhibit reclaims the art of letting one’s mind wander and explore in the age of the status update.
"Captivating journeys with a playful, winsome guide." —Kirkus Reviews
"Who else but Matthew Vollmer would travel in status faux-updates from Justin Bieber to embalming fluids, from a presidential execution order to an Amazon order for cutlery? A thrilling, hilarious book about the difference between privacy and publicity, between exhibition and excavation, between ephemera and art (hint: the saving grace of life on earth is human consciousness)." —David Shields
"Becoming conscious of the process by which we are produced may be the only available step to enabling our status as players rather than simply played, though it is no exit from the game itself. And that, to me, is what makes Matthew Vollmer’s fiction compelling at a much deeper level than the play of wit, sensibility, and intelligence in his craft." —The Brooklyn Rail
"Irresistible" —The New York Times
"Vollmer's writing is my new favorite example of what it must be like to see a life flash before your eyes." —Fiction Advocate
© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2018